The inclusion of One-Two-Go Airlines on the European Union's latest blacklist of unsafe carriers has upset Thai aviation authorities, who petitioned yesterday for an immediate withdrawal.

Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) sent a letter of protest to the European Commission's Air Safety Committee in Brussels hours after the EU released a list of 16 airlines banned from its airports for poor safety records.

As well as the Thai budget carrier, the list originally released in November included Motor Sich Airlines of Ukraine, six carriers from Kazakhstan and all airlines from Benin in west Africa.

Wuthichai Singhamanee, the DCA deputy director-general, said the department "was puzzled and regretted" the EU action, which damaged the reputation of Thailand's aviation industry.

He said One-Two-Go had passed rigorous DCA audits of aspects including safety, quality assurance systems and organisational structure - concerns that had grounded the airline for most of the second half of last year.

The grounding came after the DCA discovered substandard safety and management practices, and falsification of documents by some pilots.

A wave of litigation was also launched against the airliner in US courts by relatives of victims of the Sept 16, 2007 Phuket crash. An MD-82 jetliner operated by the carrier crashed in strong winds and heavy rain after attempting to land at Phuket International Airport, leaving 89 dead and 41 injured.

Apart from the effect on its image, One-Two-Go has no impact from the blacklist as it only operates in Thailand.

"There should not be any question about the airline's safety as the DCA's standards also came under the scrutiny of EU itself which gave a seal of endorsement recently," said Mr Wuthichai.

Orient Thai Airlines, the parent of One-Two-Go, provides all its aircraft and crew. It was also given a pass by EU safety officials in an audit last month, Mr Wuthichai explained.

He noted that the DCA had revoked the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), the commercial transport licence for airlines, for One-Two-Go as suggested by EU officials on March 27, simply to satisfy EU aviation regulations but these had nothing to do with the safety issues.

EU regulations require airlines to own at least one aircraft. One-Two-Go's fleet of MD-80 is leased from Orient Thai.

"Isn't it strange to say One-Two-Go is unsafe as its entire operation, for commercial purposes, is carried out by the EU-approved Orient Thai?" he said.

One-Two-Go is the second Thai airline on an EU blacklist. In March 2006, the EU banned Phuket Airlines along with 91 carriers from flying to all 25 EU states for failing to pass safety tests.

The decision stemmed from an incident on April 3, 2005 when some passengers claimed they saw "flames and sparks" from a Phuket Airlines' Boeing 747-200 taxiing for takeoff from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, during a stopover on the Bangkok-London route.

Phuket Airlines had denied the allegations but took remedial steps to get off the blacklist.

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AoT offers airlines new incentives Landing fees will be slashed further

Bangkokpost Published: 14/05/2009

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) will offer further incentives to keep airlines operating through its airports after a series of setbacks have hit air traffic demand.

A deeper and longer cut in landing fees, set to cost 450 million baht in lost revenue, heads the inducements to be confirmed by AoT's board on May 21.

At its April 23 meeting, the AoT board approved a 30% reduction in landing fees and a waiver in parking charges for 24 hours at the six AoT-operated airports, to be applied retroactively from May 1 to Dec 31 this year.

This enhances the current scheme - a 20% discount in landing fees and a 24-hour parking fee waiver from Feb 1 to Sept 30 - estimated to cost AoT 380 million baht.

"The impact on AoT from not providing relief to airlines is far worse than from us extending assistance to them," Serirat Prasutanond, the AoT president-designate, told the Bangkok Post.

More incentives are under consideration to help airlines maintain flights through Thailand, he said.

Airlines currently face declining load factors due to a spate of problems such as rioting in Bangkok last April, which resulted in two deaths and 135 injuries, and the H1N1 influenza outbreak, which has discouraged air travel at the start of the low travel season.

These problems have compounded issues such as the blockading of Bangkok's two airports by anti-government protesters and the global recession.

Airlines' cabin factors are now about 30% less than in the same period last year, said Jaiyavat Navaraj, chairman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), which represents more than 80 international airlines operating through Suvarnabhumi Airport.

There is no sign of traffic recovering and most airlines have begun to really see an impact from the flu outbreak on their bookings, he added.

Though airlines welcome AoT's enhanced incentives, the measures provide no guarantee that airlines will not reduce or even suspend their flights through Thailand if their operations fall short of breaking even, said Mr Jaiyavat.

While the discounts will adversely affect AoT's balance sheet this year, Mr Serirat said he would try to compensate by saving on costs such as overtime payments and utility expenditures and by putting off some planned investments. "We aim to cut our costs by 4-5%," he said.

Mr Serirat, who is currently serving as general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, ruled out reducing passenger service charges - commonly known as airport tax - as AoT is focused on helping airlines.

For 2009, AoT expects passengers passing through its airports to fall by about 15% from 54.4 million last year.

Passenger throughput in the first quarter of this year is already down 17.03% year-on-year to 13.71 million.

AOT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 26.50 baht, up 1.90 baht, in trade worth 289.34 million baht.

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Thursday, May 14, 2009
A SECOND Australian budget airline is seeking to introduce regular flights to Phuket, according to industry sources.

And almost immediately, Phuket Airport is to become a hub for VIP private flights, a concept already approved by Airports of Thailand.

With the budget airline Jetstar already bringing Down Under tourists in large numbers, the Virgin Group has just applied for government permission to start flying ''seven weekly services between points in Australia and Thailand.''

According to sources, the request went on to specify that ''Pacific Blue will operate these services to Phuket utilising 180 seat B737-800 aircraft''.

If the proposal wins approval, Virgin Group plans to utilise the rights progressively until it reaches the seven services by April next year, the sources report.

The rights to fly to Thailand would hold for five years.

However according to an online travel site, ''Already doubts have been raised about the viability of the service if they are undertaken with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

''While the aircraft is a stretch version, it is uncertain if it would successfully fly an eight hour non-stop leg at the maximum capacity of passengers and cargo.''

Thai Airways International and Virgin Blue signed an interline agreement last year that made Virgin Blue the carrying airline from 13 key domestic destinations in Australia, via THAI's four international gateway ports: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to both Bangkok and Phuket.

Meanwhile the Hong Kong-based ASA Group has been given the green light by AoT to develop Thailand's first dedicated VIP operations base on Phuket, with the island described as ''a gateway to the country's lucrative tourist region.''

The state of the art terminal and business centre will accommodate the growing ranks of VIP visitors to Thailand each year and is scheduled to open ''in the next couple of months.''

A spokesperson told globalflights.com: ''We handle so many private flights into Bangkok and Phuket, so the time is right to cater for our growing client base of VVIP visitors who have nowhere in the airport to go once they disembark.''

ASA will offer a range of services including aircraft handling, charter, security, in-flight catering and over-flight and landing clearances.

AoT has announced its plan to expand Phuket International at a cost of five billion baht to boost capacity to about 11.5 million passengers by 2016.

Another Australian group with an interest in the tourism sector is also expanding to the Andaman.

Hotel Representation Australia already provides brand awareness and promotion for the five-star The Racha on the island of the same name.

Now it has announced a deal with the Andaman Club, a unique resort on an island between Ranong and Victoria Point, under the Burma/Myanmar flag.

The five-star Andaman Club resort is home to a casino and a golf course, and familiar to many who have made visa runs over the border to the island.

Another two resorts, the South Sea Karon on Karon beach and the South Sea Grand on Pakarang Beach, Khao Lak, in neighboring Phang Nga province, have also signed with HRA

....

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MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The new director of Phuket International Airport has confirmed a plan to establish a new terminal for private jets to accommodate “VIP” passengers.

Pratuang Sornkham officially took over as head of Phuket International Airport on May 12, then flew back to Airports of Thailand (AOT) headquarters in Bangkok to receive orders on a wide range of development plans for the airfield, the busiest in Thailand after Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

Mr Pratuang’s arrival in Phuket was marked with a “Nice to Meet You” dinner at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on May 12.

He said he will continue all of the polices of his predecessor Wicha Nernlop, who will take up a new position at AOT headquarters in the capital.

In February this year, AOT announced it would invest 5 billion baht in the expansion of the airport in order to bring its capacity up to 11.5 million passengers by the year 2016 – an increase of 77% over current capacity.

Mr Pratuang confirmed a report in an aviation industry newsletter that Hong Kong-based ASA Group has been granted permission by AOT to develop Thailand’s first VIP terminal for private jets at the airport.

“We handle so many private flights into Bangkok and Phuket, so the time is right to cater for our growing client base of VIP visitors who have nowhere in the airport to go once they disembark,” the report quoted as ASA representative Simon Wagstaff as saying at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (Ebace) in Geneva, Switzerland May 14 to 16.

Services offered will include aircraft handling, charter, security, in-flight catering and over-flight and landing clearances, it was reported.

Mr Pratuang said the project is appropriate for the airport due to the growing number of businessmen and VIPs flying to Phuket aboard private jets, but he admitted he knew little about the details and would need to study the project plan.

The new post is a big step up for Mr Pratuang, who spent the last five years as director of Chiang Rai Airport, which only had 5,419 flight movements in 2008 compared to 37,991 in Phuket.

His first task is to repair or replace two escalators inside the main terminal that have been out of order for nearly a year, he said.

He will also prioritize moving the wreckage of One-Two-Go Flight 269, which is still sitting in a field at the end of the runway.

“This ruins an otherwise beautiful sea view and brings back to memory the tragic accident that happened here in 2007,” he said.

Mr Pratuang said he has already been ordered by the Transport Minister Sopon Zarum to improve links between the airport and Phuket City, which are a constant source of complaint among tourists.

“I have been ordered to rectify the situation quickly, so I will meet with airport officials and the Phuket governor in order to find a way out of the problem,” he said.

“I will organize the limousine taxis and illegal taxi operating and get them back on track,” he said optimistically.

Aggressive touting for passengers by drivers and other people working the various transport groups at the airport has to stop, he said.

“Phuket Airport has a clear policy that the taxi people must stay in their ticketing booths. We will no longer allow them to go outside their booths and accost people. This is something I plan to monitor very closely,” he said.

Also in the works is a plan to increase by 400 the number of parking spaces for passengers’ cars, he said.

Kamol Pirat

ปล. ในที่สุดผมก็ลงรูปเป็นซะที ฮาๆๆ

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A380 service seen as confidence-builder
By: CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
Published: 18/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: BusinessTourist arrivals from the Middle East should get a noticeable lift from the start of Airbus A380 megajet service to Suvarnabhumi Airport by Emirates airline on June 1.

"This launch reflects how much the airline expects visitors to increase to Thailand," said Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa, who met Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Maktoum, the chairman of Emirates Group, during the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai last week.

Sheikh Ahmed confirmed the airline would operate the world's largest commercial passenger jetliner through Bangkok as scheduled.

Normally, large aircraft are used only for long-haul flights. The Bangkok-Dubai flight is considered short-haul at six hours.

Mr Chumpol said that other Thai international airports, notably Chiang Mai and Phuket, were also ready to extend services to Emirates.

Emirates' A380 can carry 489 passengers and features luxurious facilities such as onboard shower spas, lounges, flat beds, massage-equipped private suites in first class and a new generation of intelligent seating and flat beds in business class.

Juthaporn Rerngronasa, a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the daily flight from Dubai was a positive sign for Thai tourism. Emirates has been operating in Thailand for more than 18 years. It currently operates 21 flights per week to Dubai.

Seni Puwasetthawon, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, said visitors from the Middle East had great potential because of their high levels of spending, they travel in large groups, and they like Thailand's medical services.

The TAT expects Middle East visitors to grow by 6.5% to 500,000 this year from 470,000 in 2008. Mr Seni expected visitors from the Middle East to Koh Samui will double to 10,000 this year.

The association expects one million foreign visitors to Samui this year, down from 1.1 million in 2008, with revenue down by 30-40% from 20 billion baht.

Hotel occupancy rates on Koh Samui are expected to average 40-50% this year, a drop from 70-80% in previous years, mainly because of visitor concern about Thailand's political tensions and the world economic recession.

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The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) posted a 42% drop in net profit for the quarter ending in March, largely due to the absence of extraordinary gains and a fall in revenue.

The state-controlled airport operator said net earnings were 1.83 billion baht (1.28 baht a share) in the second quarter of its fiscal year, compared with 3.16 billion (2.21 baht a share) a year earlier. The results were better than the average of 1.12 billion baht in net profit forecast by five analysts polled by Reuters.

The previous quarter's profit was inflated by 3.03 billion baht in revenue from the duty-free concessionaire King Power at Suvarnabhumi Airport following a court ruling.

Revenue from January to March 2009 fell 18.93% year-on-year to 5.74 billion baht. Income from the aeronautical sector fell 18.62% to 3.45 billion while non-aeronautical revenue slipped 19.38% to 2.28 billion.

Revenue was affected by lower fees for airlines, concessionaires and tenants, part of AoT's relief package to sustain air traffic and operations, said Supaporn Burapakusolsri, senior executive vice-president for planning and finance.

Traffic through AoT's six airports fell 16.06%, passenger traffic was down 17.03% and cargo by 30.43%, due to the global downturn and Thailand's political tensions.

Analysts forecast a deterioration in the April-June quarter, due to the impact of the global downturn, local political unrest and the H1N1 flu threat. Reduced landing fees and lower air traffic could also pull down revenue.

For 2009, AoT expects passengers through its airports to fall by about 15% from 54.4 million last year.

The Tourism Council of Thailand has lowered its estimate of tourist arrivals from 12.8 million to 10.8 million, with revenue from inbound tourism 100 billion baht less than an earlier target of 350 billion. About 10% of the tourism industry's workforce, or 250,000 employees, are expected to be laid off.

AOT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 24 baht, up one baht, in trade worth 109 million baht.

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Airline ticket sales in Thailand shrank by 20% in value and 10% in volume in the first quarter of this year, reflecting the global downturn in air travel industry.

The value of fares and surcharges on tickets issued in Thailand through the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) billing and settlement plan (BSP) system fell by 19.73% from the same period last year to 12.73 billion baht.

Meanwhile, the numbers of air tickets issued in Thailand through the system dropped 9.65% to 590,684, down from 653,789 year-on-year, according to IATA's Bangkok office.

The BSP system incorporates 388 IATA-accredited sales agents in Thailand, which process and secure fare payment to participating carriers.

These agents are responsible for roughly 80% of all air tickets issued in Thailand. The remaining 20% are sold through airlines' over-the-counter and on-line sales channels.

The steep decline was mainly attributed to global recession, but Thailand's political turmoil has taken its toll.

The outlook for ticket sales in the second quarter continues to look gloomy with consumer confidence deteriorating further because of additional factors, such as the Songkran riots and the (A)H1N1 flu outbreak.

Concerns over a possible (A)H1N1 pandemic would compound the misery for an industry already facing its worst financial crisis in decades.

Air travel demand has been falling globally for months, as businesses cut costs and tourism feels the pinch from the financial crisis.

IATA said global passenger traffic fell 11.1% in March over the same month in 2008, while cargo traffic fell 21.4%.

"Leisure travel will be hard hit and there will be trade-down for necessary business travel to the economy seats," said Chitvee Leelasiri, Thailand country manager for IATA.

It is too early to forecast the outlook for third-quarter ticket sales, he said, though trade is unlikely to pick up.

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Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) posted a 42% drop in net profit for the quarter ending in March, largely due to the absence of extraordinary gains and a fall in revenue.

The state-controlled airport operator said net earnings were 1.83 billion baht (1.28 baht a share) in the second quarter of its fiscal year, compared with 3.16 billion (2.21 baht a share) a year earlier. The results were better than the average of 1.12 billion baht in net profit forecast by five analysts polled by Reuters.

The previous quarter's profit was inflated by 3.03 billion baht in revenue from the duty-free concessionaire King Power at Suvarnabhumi Airport following a court ruling.

Revenue from January to March 2009 fell 18.93% year-on-year to 5.74 billion baht. Income from the aeronautical sector fell 18.62% to 3.45 billion while non-aeronautical revenue slipped 19.38% to 2.28 billion.

Revenue was affected by lower fees for airlines, concessionaires and tenants, part of AoT's relief package to sustain air traffic and operations, said Supaporn Burapakusolsri, senior executive vice-president for planning and finance.

Traffic through AoT's six airports fell 16.06%, passenger traffic was down 17.03% and cargo by 30.43%, due to the global downturn and Thailand's political tensions.

Analysts forecast a deterioration in the April-June quarter, due to the impact of the global downturn, local political unrest and the H1N1 flu threat. Reduced landing fees and lower air traffic could also pull down revenue.

For 2009, AoT expects passengers through its airports to fall by about 15% from 54.4 million last year.

The Tourism Council of Thailand has lowered its estimate of tourist arrivals from 12.8 million to 10.8 million, with revenue from inbound tourism 100 billion baht less than an earlier target of 350 billion. About 10% of the tourism industry's workforce, or 250,000 employees, are expected to be laid off.

AOT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 24 baht, up one baht, in trade worth 109 million baht.

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Jin Air, Korean Air's budget affiliate, has selected China and Thailand as its first two destinations for international service.

The budget carrier, which started domestic service last July, said it would start international operation starting in October to Macau and Bangkok. Airfare will be about 80 percent of that of full service carriers.

``We are also considering operating to cities in nations with which Korea has made `open sky' pacts, such as Osaka in Japan and the Shandong Peninsula in China. We'll add three more destinations by the end of this year,'' Kim Jae-kun, president and CEO of Jin Air, said in a media briefing in Seoul, Monday.

Kim said Jin Air's competitor on the international routes to Southeast Asia is not Korean Air but foreign carriers which take up 60-70 percent of the market, especially low cost ones.

``We can guarantee much better safety than those budget airlines. We may be able to lower fare to similar levels,'' Kim said.

For the plan, the carrier will adopt one more aircraft within the year. It now has four B737-800s.

The airline also expanded domestic operations between Seoul and Jeju to 24 from 16 last Sunday, and will newly provide eight daily service between Busan and Jeju Friday.

``We had 10 billion won in sales last year, and aim to get 90 billion won this year along with the launch of international operation. We hope we can reach the break-even point in 2010 and lead the budget air travel market here,'' Kim said.

He said one of the strongest points of Jin Air is safety ― the airline was recently listed on the International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) registry, an evaluation system to assess the operational management and control systems of airlines.

Jin Air is the first budget airline in Korea to pass the audit, and it obtained approval eight months after the service launch, the shortest time of every carrier in the world. ``We passed the audit without any findings or observations and were recognized as `perfect.' It showed our commitment to safety,'' Kim said.

The airline has 10 percent discount programs for corporations, available not only to workers of the companies but also their family members. The program will apply to international flights as well.

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The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.

International traffic data for April showed a 3.1 per cent decline in passenger demand and a 21.7 per cent fall in cargo demand compared to the same period last year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

While April's 3.1 per cent passenger demand drop was a clear improvement compared to the -11.1 per cent fall in March, this improvement should be viewed with caution. Easter holidays, which fell in the month of April, positively skews the data by at least 2 per cent. Traffic gains were at the expense of yields in most regions. And preliminary data for May suggests a renewed double digit decline, at least for European airlines.

Freight demand appears to have found a solid floor with a fifth consecutive month at more than 20 per cent below previous year levels.

"We are not out of the woods yet," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO. "The demand improvements that we saw in April are welcome. But the 3.1 per cent decline in passenger demand still outstripped the 2.5 per cent cutback in capacity. There is no improvement in revenues as yields continue to fall. And freight remains at shockingly low levels. The worst may be over. However, we have not yet seen any signs that recovery is imminent," said Bisignani.

Load factors improved to 74.4 per cent in April, compared to 72.1 per cent in March. However this is slightly distorted by high volume holiday travel. Forward schedules show a return to previous-year capacity levels by the end of the third quarter. Without a corresponding sharp improvement in demand, load factors are likely to decline rather than improve.

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The business model at Suvarnabhumi is different from Don Mueang. At Don Mueang, BAFS is the sole aircraft-refuelling provider. We provide the fuel depot facilities to handle the Jet A-1 for fuel suppliers and then refuel all aircraft landing at Don Mueang. We rent the hydrant pipeline system from Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) and refuel aircraft with our dispenser trucks. At Suvarnabhumi we provide services including an aviation fuel depot and aircraft refuelling storage. BAFS was granted the concession by AOT to be one of two into-plane service providers, and we invested in fuel depot facilities. The hydrant pipeline at Suvarnabhumi was invested in and is operated by TARCO, in which BAFS holds a 90% stake.

2. Please explain BAFS' pricing and cost structure.

BAFS has two different pricing and cost structures. At Don Mueang the pricing structure consists of a storage fee, hydrant fee, and into-plane fee which together are called the combined user fee (CUF), paid by fuel suppliers. At Suvarnabhumi, the pricing structure consists of a storage fee and into-plane fee.

Our major costs at Don Mueang are the hydrant pipeline rental and land rental charges that are about 30% of total cost, and also depreciation.

Given the shift of Thai Airways flights from Don Mueang to Suvarnabhumi our revenue has dropped drastically at Don Mueang and we are in the process of renegotiating this issue with AOT. However, THAI is still our client at Suvarnabhumi. For Suvarnabhumi, because of our huge investment in the pipelines, fuel storage and other equipment, depreciation represents 28% of our total costs with the remainder consisting of labour and the airport concession fee (ACF). The ACF represents close to 18% of our total cost at Suvarnabhumi and is linked to service volume.

1. In March 2009, BAFS's management based its forecasts on Thai Airways guidance and provided guidance that uplifting volume would only drop by 2% this year. Given the drop of tourism by 50% in the first quarter, the continued political turmoil and the huge drop in global trade, is BAFS still confident in this target?

We are still confident in this target that uplifting volume of 2009 would only drop by 2% from last year as monthly actual volume growth from January to April was in line with our forecasts. Provided there are no further incidents in Thailand and/or globally, we forecast that uplifting growth would be in double digits in the last two months of 2009 when compared to 2008.MISCELLANEOUS:

1. What do you feel are the biggest risks facing BAFS's business today?

BAFS, as a company, is linked to Thailand's ability to grow as an international economy and an aviation hub for the region. Our risks are on two fronts: the global economic slowdown which, if continued and drawn-out, would reduce Thailand's aviation business and tourism would decline. Second, if there are continued domestic problems tourism would experience more pressure. As a company we have imposed strict cost-saving measures as of the end of last year in order to combat these factors.

2. Has the global slowdown or local political turmoil affected your business?

Yes, because of the global slowdown and local political turmoil, our uplift volume growth in November and December of 2008 dropped by 24% and 28% respectively. As we mentioned earlier, BAFS is prepared for these risk factors. We have put in place risk management policies by controlling expenses in every department and generating monthly financial reports to top management in order to maintain performance and maximise shareholder value.

3. Where do you see BAFS in five years from now?

In five years from now, BAFS will continue to provide services to AOT and ensure that Thailand can compete on a regional basis with our services. Our balance sheet will be stronger as our long-term debts would be slightly lower when compared to our equity base and we hope to continue to provide a consistent return on investment to our shareholders.

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PB Air aims to grow as it flies back to profit ATR turboprops help revive balance sheet

Bangkokpost Published: 29/05/2009

PB Air, the airline run by Singha beer baron Piya Bhirom-Bhakdi, has begun to see a return to profitability as its business plan bears fruit.

"We are slowly coming out of the mud of red numbers," Heribert Gaksch, director for marketing and business development at PB Air, declared yesterday.

The carrier, now 19 years old, saw a turnaround on its balance sheet following a fleet change, cost controls, and a marketing and distribution beef-up in February of this year.

The driving force to profitability is the substitution of its two Brazilian-made Embraer ERJ 145 LR jets with two ATR 72-500 turboprops leased from Bangkok Airways, the kingdom's second-largest carrier.

The turboprops have provided better economic yields than the Embraers, which PB Air returned to the American aircraft lessor Gecas on April 18 after seven years in the airline's service.

The addition of the turboprop, which can seat 70 passengers instead the Embraer's 50, as well as a stepped-up marketing effort including longer operating hours for its call centre and the creation of sales counters at Krungthai Card branches enabled PB Air to sell more seats.

PB currently fills an average of 80% its seats.

The airline operates 10 flights a day on six secondary domestic routes from Bangkok to Lampang, Nan, Nakhon Phanom, Sakhon Nakhon, Buri Ram and Roi-Et _ all unique routes.

PB Air is due to launch regular service to Mae Sot on June 5 with three flights a week, and it hopes to begin operating flights to Chumphon in the next few months, said Mr Gaksch.

The improved financial results have seemed to encourage Mr Piya to keep the carrier flying.

PB Air is assessing its options for a future fleet after the initial "dry" lease of ATR 72-500s, covering aircraft but not crew, expires in October this year.

It has been in talks with aircraft lessors for long-term leases of two ATR 72-500s or it may extend the agreement for the two planes with Bangkok Airways.

Bangkok Airways has a fleet of nine turboprops, excessive in light of the slowdown in demand caused by the economic crisis and political turmoil.

Mr Gaksch said PB Air needs to have three such turboprops to support its route expansion or if it wants to offer charters.

Meanwhile, the airline is upbeat about the potential of the Mae Sot service with a likely 40-50 leisure and business travellers on each flight.

An introductory one-way fare of 2,600 baht, 300 baht lower than the normal listed rate, has been offered for the first month of operation.

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